It has been common in the past to provide protection to the chest and upper back regions of a user by way of a ballistic vest. Such vests utilize strike plates or soft body armor positioned in the chest area and upper back area. However, the vests do not extend below the waist of a user so as to allow freedom of movement when the user is wearing the vest. This is particularly true when rigid strike plates are utilized in the vest, as such strike plates provide no flexibility when the user wears the vest.
As a result, such vests do not provide protection for the lower back region of a user. Thus, a user is exposed to serious injury from bullets, fragmentation, or blast waves in this lower back region. Notably, the lower back region houses the kidneys and lower spine, thus wounds to this area can result in significant harm to an operator.
Thus, there is a need for a system that provides lower back protection while still allowing flexibility for an operator.